Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-20
IELTS Writing Task 1 question
The diagram below shows the process for making a water clock.
Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.
HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN WATER CLOCK
Student answer (Band 5.0)
The given diagram is a process chart for building your own water clock.
The first and foremost is a device that measures time with the regulated flow of water is often termede as water clock. There are total 7 stages of making a water clock, The first and foremost is to keep the tap on then we need to cover hole with fingers afterwards top bottle is filled in order to overflow, moving ahead, we need a constant level of water, subsequently, keep your fingers away from hole, as well as check ;levels per minute the last but not the least, empty the jar and repeat the process for timing things.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.5
The student has attempted to describe the process of making and operating a water clock based on the provided diagram. However, the response falls significantly short of the 150-word minimum, containing only 111 words, which imposes a ceiling on the task achievement score. While the writer mentions several key stages such as keeping the tap on, covering the hole, and timing things, the description is overly simplistic, reads more like a bullet-point list run together, and lacks an integrated overview. To reach higher bands, the writer must expand the description significantly and include an introductory overview outlining the main components and overall mechanism.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The text suffers from poor paragraphing, being presented as a single short block, and lacks clear structural progression. Although the writer attempts some cohesive devices like 'moving ahead' and 'subsequently', punctuation is heavily neglected, leading to run-on sentences and comma splices (e.g., 'There are total 7 stages of making a water clock, The first...'). Cohesion is mechanical and inadequate for a well-structured academic report. Paragraphing is not used effectively to separate the overview, apparatus description, and the operational stages.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is quite basic and repetitive ('first and foremost', 'tap on', 'hole with fingers'). There are also lexical and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'termede' instead of 'termed' and inappropriate register for an academic report ('keep your fingers away'). While the writer makes an attempt to use transition phrases, the lexical range is too limited to convey precise technical details about the apparatus and the physical processes involved.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5
The grammatical structure is heavily flawed with numerous errors in punctuation, sentence boundary control, and subject-verb agreement. For instance, 'There are total 7 stages' lacks an article and precision, and the entire second half of the text is a massive run-on sentence joined incorrectly by commas. Simple structures predominate, and attempts at complexity result in frequent grammatical breakdown and lack of control over punctuation.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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